are things better now than oh say in 1971?

Question

I say yes I saw a youngster post a question that he would have rather been in 1971 than 2011
but i dont think they understand that first you could be drafted to nam
no cell phones
3 tv channels till 12am
stores closed at 6pm and nothing open on sunday
you had to wind your watch and hoped it worked for the day
a lot of broken glass
no computer or internet
no call waiting or answering machins
no calculators you had to do the math on paper and do you remember those push counters you took to the store.
there were only about 3 brands of tennis shoes
paper shopping bags were hard to work with
garbage cans with no wheels
everything was made of steel making it a lot heavier than the space age materials now
you probably wouldn't have got a car as a youngster especialy a new one unless you paid for it
you couldnt just go to the weather channel and see the 7day forecast and the one you got on the news was not that accurate
if you wanted to see a movie you had to go out and see it
we had to wear 90lb rain suits just kidding but they wear heavy and a sweat box as well
there were no pimeds or 24 pharmacies
no spell checkers except teachers and dictionaries


can you name some things at that time that are not as good as today

Answer 1

You're so right, Green of Jean. The only thing I don't get is broken glass.

Answer 2

I cannot name anything then that was inferior to what is available today. 1971 was a splendid year for me, professionally, socially, physically and in every way I can imagine.



Who needed a cell phone? Nobody else had one.

I had better things to do than watch television.

I lived in a high rise on the Gold Coast in Chicago. There were stores open at all hours, seven days a week. Winding my watch was no big deal. I do not remember breaking glass, I had an electric typewriter and didn't even imagine a personal computer. I had an answering service and could do math in my head, or with paper and pencil. I have no what a push counter was. Back then, I wore stileto heal shoes and did not have a pair of tennis shoes, shopping bags were not a problem to me and I didn't need to deal with garbage cans. Was steel really a problem? I left my car at my parents house in the sububs to use when I visited. Parking in the city was a hastle and I could walk to work. Radio stations reported weather conditions and the news was considerably more accurate than what we now see on television. Going to the movies was a treat. I liked to walk in the rain. I have no clue about pimeds, and pharmacies were open at all hours in the city. They had soda fountains, too. I could spell and owned a good dictionary. Life was good back then.



I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Answer 3

That was the year my daughter was born. I bought my first new car and paid less than $2,000 for it. My payments were $44.00 a month. My parents and grandparents and in-laws were all still alive and younger than I am right now. My favorite TV programs were reruns of Star Trek, Gunsmoke, the Big Valley and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. All in the Family was causing all kinds of controversy and a new cop show came on called the Rookies. Johnny Cash was the Man in Black and guys were coming home from Vietnam with raging heroin addictions. That's the year I became a cop and had to arrest some of my fellow Vietnam veteran brothers. I quit after a couple of years. Police work just wasn't for me. I took my wife to the movies on Saturday nights and one time she made me go see an awful film called Love Story. Mash came out and was in the theaters in town. It was a hoot. We got cable TV. They didn't have HBO or Showtime or the History Channel, but they had a lot of stations from around the country. And the reception sure beat the old rabbit ears. My stereo was a Panasonic reel to reel and I could put 16 hours of continuous music on one tape and when I turned up the base the walls would vibrate. I could take my wife out to a nice restaurant and have the best meal on the menu for less than $15.00. I put a tape player in my car and thought that was the coolest thing in the world. And when we went on a trip we bought a CB radio so we could get warnings if there were cops up ahead. Breaker one nine. We discovered diaper service and it sure beat the heck out of washing dirty diapers, even though my wife insisted on rinsing the really dirty ones before exchanging them every week. Similac cost about $5.00 a case and we thought that was high. We had it good and we knew it and thought it would last forever.

Answer 4

Gas lines were longer and you were lucky if you could get any, but food was cheaper, watches were made to last, even though you had to wind them, there were many bakeries, I did not need spell check. I did not like White-Out, though. Kids went to school in their own neighborhoods and not sent all over town. My job paid very little, but went farther than it does today. I lived in a new house which cost $17,500.00. I think it was a good time to be alive. Computers and IPads/IPods take too much time away from a family in my opinion. The world keeps getting smaller. I can tell what the weather is going to be anyway, but sometimes do not want to know. I do not wear a watch because they will not run on me, and I do not set my alarm clock. I wake up when the sun comes up and go to bed when I get tired. I think that is better than when I worked 8 hours a day.

Answer 5

Wow. You just made me realize that the little town I live in is still a lot like 1971.

Cell phones cost more than the $18 a month land line.

Only a few people opted for the expensive cable TV while most still use antennas.

Stores still close at 5 or 6 pm.

Can't even get a quart of milk on Sundays here.

Garbage cans are still galvanized steel.

We still have a drive in theater.

Cars are better now though.

I guess we're lucky to have a Zip Code.

Answer 6

Sorry but I think things were better in 1971, there were not the gangs, drugs, murders and thieves. Where I lived Stores were open on Sunday, and closed usually about 9. Paper bags were stronger and could hold a weeks worth of food, There was one or two 24 hours pharmacies in my town. The garbage cans had no wheels, but they were also about 1/3 the size of the ones of today. I was taught ethics, values and morals.



Seems better to me.

Answer 7

all so true, but I was young and beautiful and had a great time, did not miss what did not exist, and I LIKE paper bags. The steel mills were ugly and dangerous, but they paid well and I thought closing them was a BIG mistake, TV was a drag but I like to read, I still just look out the window for the weather, it's always correct, some of the teachers were just plain mean, but today I think they may be afraid, so my vote goes to 1971. As for the war, awful thing war, but today it is on our streets, airports, malls and schools.

Answer 8

Things were a whole lot cheaper then.. Everything today is taking the check. Meals were at home with family. Kids played on outdoor skating rinks(much more fun), made by the community. We tobogganed on hills in our area in winters..Kids were home after 9pm.. Kids and family played together, they the kids ,didn't need organized centers where the gangs were linked.(drugs)..Parents ran the schools and educations of their children. You had to use your head in math, no calculators. You could enjoy vacations with family, as schools didn't take over the family times. Outings were with family, not with schools. Parents had time for their family then too. Parents were responsible for the education of their kids, not governments. Today governments run everything.. You were responsible for your own language education.

Answer 9

C'mon Mr. Grean jeans, I bet you are like me and secretly wish you live in Mayberry with Andy and Opie. No kidding, sure we have a lot of good stuff now, but I miss watching the T.V. sign off every night at 12 or 1. And movies used to be special,not on demand. Like looking forward to the one time a year you could watch Wizard of oz or Its a wonderful life. I liked it better when tennis shoes were canvas and you actually had to understand math.

Answer 10

We had to set garbage bags out on the curb to be picked up, and there were no laws at the time to keep one's dog from roaming free, consequently garbage strung all over the neighborhood.



I don't believe there were domestic abuse laws in place, I was not the only young wife with lots of bumps and bruises.



Beer and wine could only be purchased in the state liquor stores, warm of course.



No caller ID so you couldn't decide whether or not to answer

Answer 11

Yes, I think it was better then. Back then, we still believed that the best days for us were ahead...as we were still in the circumstance that hard work and savings meant that we could continue to prosper.



As a country, we were buying American products then...and recirculating all our money within our own country... it meant lots of jobs for everyone, lots of taxes paid right into city, state, and Federal tax funds and into the Social Security fund. When money stays in the country...the country thrives.



Now we send nearly all our purchasing money to overseas...and have no jobs, and cities, states, and the country nearly bankrupt because of it. Seems we got stupider instead of smarter.

Answer 12

I like today. Indoor bathrooms, clothes washers and dryers, dish washers, no ironing because of the newer materials, just about everyone has a car or two, fast foods, DVD movies, all kinds of great services, the list goes on and on.

Answer 13

Well, we have a lot of different kinds of food available. What once was exotic is now common place. I remember I lived on pot pies cooked in a small tabletop stove. Ah, the days.

Answer 14

I cannot recall microwave ovens at this time. If they were around, no one had them in our town. It was known as an oven and loads of time for thawing.

GPS...I still want no part of this one. We used maps.

A terrorist alert system. We were simply made to run into the halls and get down on our knees with arms over our heads.

Answer 15

Not so many people were without jobs, young men were able to learn a trade.

Everything was a lot cheaper, and as far as I know MPs, were not stealing the tax payers money.

Answer 16

we had it pretty darned good back in 1971. What we had was just different but it was great, people talked to each other, there were family outings, we had a schedule, we knew and trusted our neighbors, we shared what we grew with family, friends and neighbors, we were in organizations and learned to do things, etc.

Answer 17

hmm i do no longer in basic terms like the identify of #3 yet in basic terms cuz i'm unlike christian inaway sound like it would be style of cool. i know how annoying this is like while me and my band frist began yet it gets much less complicated. good lcuk 2 u :)

Answer 18

I don't think our luggage had wheels on it.



But now is OK too. My children are all grown and on their own and I'm retired.